To Break the Cycle
by EiriFllyn
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke's final battle ended in stalemate without reconciliation. Madara stubbornly clings to life. Desperation leads to a miracle, and they wake up 3 years in the past. They are weakened, but armed with future knowledge, their resolves only strengthen. The war continues, and it only gets bloodier.
1. The Beginning of the End

'I'm dying,' he thought as he lay face down on the ground, watching with one eye the figure lying not fifty meters away from him.

He was almost completely out of chakra, and that last clash between their two techniques had left him with massive fatal wounds all over his body. The collision of his Blaze-enhanced Chidori and his rival's Rasengan had obliterated what remained of the opposing statues at the historic Valley, as if symbolizing the end of the transmigratory feud of the two brothers.

So the cycle had been broken…but at what cost? He was supposed to bring a revolution to the cursed world of shinobi after killing Naruto, his one remaining bond. With that, the cycle would end, his power unmatched, and he would become the World Shadow.

But he underestimated the optimistic fool. It didn't even make any sense. He had absorbed all of Naruto's chakra and that of the Nine-Tails within, but the damn idiot had somehow pulled more chakra out of nowhere.

And now they were both going to die. Kaguya had been sealed so the God Tree's chakra absorption was no longer active. But without the Six Paths power, nobody could end the Infinite Tsukuyomi even if Kakashi and Sakura managed to physically cut everyone out of the God Tree cocoons. In the end, Madara's stupid plot to trap the world in perpetual simulated Heaven had succeeded against all odds.

Lying in a quickly growing pool of blood, he shut his visible eye, too tired to fight anymore, waiting for the inevitable.

Images of his life began to flash through his mind.

 _He blew the biggest Fireball he could as Father watched behind him. As he finished, he turned around to look at his father, giddy in anticipation of finally meeting his expectations._

 _Blood splattered as the tanto sliced into the flesh of his father and mother before they crumpled lifelessly to the ground. He couldn't turn his eyes away no matter how many times he had already been forced to watch this scene._

 _He read the hidden documents with a blank gaze under the flicking candle light. So the clan was right to accuse that man of murdering their cousin after all._

 _He looked away before pushing his lunch box towards the dead last. He knew it was breaking the rules, but that's what a teammate was supposed to do, right?_

 _He dashed in front of the useless blonde idiot on some strange instinct, as if his body moved on its own. If the dead last had just stayed outside, he wouldn't be a pincushion now…but he has to admit he was a little grateful that the idiot was so ready to run unthinkingly to his side._

 _He disappeared without a sound and gracefully knocked her out from behind. He knew what he was and what he had to do and he had no regrets leaving everything behind._

 _He stared down at his scratched head protector and the unconscious boy that lay on the ground. He turned around and walked away. It wasn't because the idiot had missed on purpose and hit his forehead protector to prove a point, he tells himself. It's because he just doesn't want to follow the same path as that man. He would find his own power and surpass that man in every way imaginable._

 _He shrugged off the bits of snake skin and emerged from the shadows in the dark. He took one glance at the frozen white-haired medic-nin before walking away. He was strong enough now and it was time to fulfill his ambition and destiny, to avenge his clan._

 _He stared in shock at the fallen body of the man who murdered his clan. Then the shock turned into a chuckle, and then to full blown laughter as he passed out in glee. He had done it. At last the ghosts of his family could rest in peace._

 _He cried with tears of blood as he stood shakily on the rocky shores. His whole life had been one lie after another. But now his eyes could finally see far enough to glimpse the truth, and with the power his brother had left him he would make them all pay._

 _He cried with tears of both happiness and sorrow as his brother dissipated into a million lights. Who was really to blame for the tragedy of the Uchiha? Was it the clan, for fighting oppression through rebellion? Was it the village, for defending the majority through tyranny? Was it Itachi, for preserving peace through sacrifice?_

 _He met unflinchingly the gaze of the ancient spirit and declared his righteous purpose: to break the cycle and bring revolution to the ninja world._

His grey transmigration eye flashed open again and his whole body trembled.

'No, it won't end this way! I won't allow it!'

The world still needed him, to break them out of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. And, knowing Naruto, the fool would pull another miracle out of nowhere and stand back up to win this fight. But, he couldn't allow that. If he let the usuratonkachi win this, then the endless cycle of pain would continue. The world would fall back to the old ways as the surviving shinobi taint the future with their bloody system.

For his family, for his brother, for all the ninja who had died to reach this day, for all the unborn children who would suffer needlessly under the shadow of conflicts they would never understand…

He had to fight on and finish the revolution. The future was in reach…he couldn't lose now. This time, he would be the one to pull off a miracle!

He didn't know how to cast the technique properly, but after seeing it with his Sharingan, he could at least try to do _something_ , _anything_.

Power coalesced in his eyes, his body trembled, and a wave of chakra blasted outwards, distorting the world.

'Izanagi!'

* * *

'I'm dying,' he thought as he lay on the ground, watching with one eye the figure lying not fifty meters across from him.

He was almost completely out of chakra, and that last clash between their two techniques had left him with severe burns and irreparable damage to his internal organs. Even if he had the Yang power to regenerate all this, he didn't have the chakra to do it. The last clash of his Tailed Beast Planetary Rasengan with his rival's Chidori had obliterated what remained of the opposing statues at the valley of the end, as if symbolizing the end of the transmigratory feud of the two brothers.

So the cycle had been broken…but at what cost? They were supposed to work together finally unite the world in peace. Wasn't that why Sasuke came back to fight on the Shinobi Alliance's side? Wasn't that why the bastard said he wanted to become Hokage?!

But that didn't happen. Instead, Sasuke wanted to kill him and start a…revolution? And he wasn't strong enough to win. It didn't even make sense! He was working perfectly with Kurama and almost defeated Sasuke, but he somehow pulled all sorts of new Rinnegan techniques out of nowhere. They'd been fighting Obito and Madara and Kaguya non-stop for the past several days, so when did he manage to learn them all?

And now they were both going to die. Kaguya had been sealed so the God Tree's chakra absorption was no longer active. But without the Six Paths power, nobody could end the Infinite Tsukuyomi even if Kakashi and Sakura managed to physically cut everyone out of the God Tree cocoons. He could just imagine the smug spirit of Madara telling him, 'In the end, true peace prevailed. Everyone is enjoying their happiness, so just die gracefully already.'

Lying in a quickly growing pool of blood, he shut his visible eye, too tired to fight anymore, waiting for the inevitable.

Images of his life began to flash through his mind.

 _He watched as the other children ran to their parents with smiles on their faces. As he caught the eyes of any parent, they would always look away. Nobody would acknowledge him._

 _He looked over at his rival who was sitting at the docks by himself. He hated that guy for always being better than him, but he thought deep down that maybe they could understand each other._

 _He ran like the wind dodging this way and that way. As the horde of ANBU passed, he let out a chuckle, which slowly turned hollow. He still couldn't do the clone technique, and he knew he'd fail the exam tomorrow. But he was a great ninja even without that technique, why couldn't they see that?_

 _He knew the truth at long last, the reason he was so despised. Yet he was not alone, not completely, it seems, for his sensei had defended him with his life. Now, he realized it was his turn to do the same, as he put his hands in the cross-seal and prepared to unveil his newest technique._

 _He heard the bastard pass his ambition onto him, saw the life leaving the bastard's eyes, and felt his blood boil. He was burning all over and the world looked red. He snarled in his crimson haze and turned his bloodshot gaze towards the masked ninja who killed his best friend._

 _He shut his eyes tight to brace himself for another finger flick. But to his surprise he received on his forehead not a flick but a kiss. As he opened his eyes and heard her acknowledging his dream, he couldn't help the smile that burst on his face. He would become a respectable Hokage some day._

 _He watched her cry and couldn't bear it anymore. That bastard had some nerve leaving Team 7 behind. But he'll bring him back, that's the promise of a life time!_

 _He watched as the life returned to Gaara while the old hag dropped dead. He could hardly believe that Gaara became the Kazekage so quickly, only to have it taken away. At least he got revived…but…that could have been him. Akatsuki. That's the name of the people after him._

 _He felt his heart pounding as he heard the news. Sasuke killed Orochimaru, and he was going after Itachi? That means…he could come back to Konoha soon, right? They could be a team again!_

 _He ran out of the office in shock. They were lying, they had to be! How could the old pervert die? Why did Tsunade send him to fight the leader of Akatsuki alone?! He punched the wall in rage. Is this what Sasuke felt like that night, why his life's ambition was – to kill a certain man?_

 _He held the book his hands as he laid flowers on the grave. The entire village was destroyed and thousands died. But somehow he found it in himself to forgive Nagato…and his fellow student decided to believe in him, reviving everyone he killed. As he held the book to his chest, he silently promised. If there's such a thing as peace, then he would find it._

 _He met unflinchingly the gaze of the ancient spirit and declared his righteous purpose: To break the cycle, and find peace for all shinobi and every country in the lands._

His blue eyes flashed open and his body froze.

'No, it won't end this way! I won't allow it!'

The world still needed him. He had to break everybody out of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. And knowing Sasuke, he would somehow manage to get up and claim victory, just like last time. If he let the bastard win this, then the world will go down a terrible path. With the death of shinobi leaders, the cycle of hatred would continue, and Sasuke's unmatchable power would only rule the world in terror.

For his teammates, his parents, his village, and everybody that passed their dreams onto him and gave up their lives to put their faith in him…

He had to get up and win! The future was in reach…he couldn't lose now.

He knew he wasn't supposed to do this without enough chakra of his own, but he was going to die anyways, so it didn't matter.

He synchronized with the flow of the world and let its torrent flood him with its power. But he didn't try to mix it with his own chakra to form Sage mode, because he had none.

Nature chakra converged upon him like air rushing to fill a vacuum, and his form exploded into a gigantic mass of chakra.

* * *

"Even the Sage is a naïve fool…did you really think I would die so easily? I _always_ have a backup plan…" A voice rasped as a hand struck out from the rubble.

As he emerged from the ground, the battered form of Madara Uchiha stumbled forward. After waiting for the Sage and everyone else to go away, the transcription seal in his right eye once again activated in response to a trigger he quietly set up during his "last words" with Hashirama. His right eye was now permanently closed from Izanagi's sacrifice, but fortunately he could simply rejuvenate it later with the Six Paths Yang power by using his remaining Rinnegan with the Gedo Mazo's chakra, as he had discovered when he had done this the first time around. Of course, the Gedo Mazo was gone now, but it was just sage chakra he needed, which he had learned how to manipulate earlier in the fight against Hashirama.

A more pressing issue was that his body wasn't quite out of danger yet. While the Izanagi turned his dying body into an illusion and reverted him to before Kaguya took over, that didn't return the Ten Tails back to him as it had been sealed away. So he was still a former jinchuuriki doomed to die. But nobody seemed to remember that Madara also absorbed the miniature new Shinju Obito created so that its "flower" would substitute for Obito's lack of the Third Eye needed for the Infinite Tsukuyomi. That Shinju bought Madara almost a day's worth of time to live before it ran out of lifeforce. He had deliberately allowed himself to die faster by suppressing the Shinju in order to avoid suspicion, but now that they had all left, he was free to act.

Suddenly another figure emerged from the ground and solidified into a Zetsu-like being with a spiral mask.

"Good work, Tobi. Now come…"

Tobi dutifully obliged and unravelled himself, only to overlay his body over Madara and began symbiosis.

"Now then…time to rejuvenate the Shinju…"

He sat down crossed legged and brought his hands together in a seal. Wooden branches emerged from the ground and attached themselves to him, as his Rinnegan pulsed with power. Soon, chakra from the God Tree began flowing into Madara, a mixture of human and nature chakra, rejuvenating the Shinju within.

* * *

"UUWWAAAAAGHHHH!"

The gigantic thing that had previously been Naruto screamed as it blew up to unfathomable sizes. Sasuke watched in horror while his failed Izanagi continued to warp his body and everything around it in an uncontrollable spasm. Exotic chakras were dancing around, leaking from the thing that was Naruto and the black seams that appeared where the Izanagi warp mixed with the nature chakra and the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Meanwhile, Madara had just fed his Shinju an impressive volume of chakra from his connection to the God Tree when he felt a disturbance in the air. Looking up, he saw a blurry sky with black cracks roaming across the red Rinne Sharingan moon. He reached out with his senses and found what appeared to be the source of a massive chakra anomaly and the telltale signs of an Izanagi whose field of effect seemed to be encroaching far beyond the user's body. Before he had any time to ponder on the potential consequences of such an improper use of the technique, suddenly the world shattered like glass and all was dark.

* * *

Naruto awoke with a fevered gasp. His vision opened to reveal a familiar scene, the dank recesses of his mental sewers.

He pushed himself up and glanced around, finding nothing but murky waters. Feeling disoriented, he ran towards where he remembered the seal should have been to check on his partner.

Before long, he came to a stop before a towering cage with thick black bars blocking the way to the dark depths of Kurama's prison.

'Something's seems off…' Naruto thought as he shook his head to try and clear out the fog that seemed to impair his mind.

"Hey, Kurama, you okay in there!?" Naruto shouted as he grabbed and shook the bars.

There was a moment of silence before a powerful roar blew him back.

A single slitted eye appeared from the dark. The voice of the Nine-Tails boomed, " **How do you know of that name**!"

Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion before he shouted back, "Your other half told me! I thought you knew that already!"

The red eye blinked. Then the voice growled in continuation, " **Lies! I would never tell human trash my own name!** "

"What's gotten into you? There's no time to be arguing about this, we're about to die here in case you forgot!"

" **Fool, I already healed your worthless flesh sack! Now tell me the truth or I will rip you to shreds!** "

Shocked at the news and the sheer hatred he was feeling from his partner, Naruto involuntarily stepped back with wide eyes. Then he looked at the huge metal bars again and froze.

'What the hell?! This is my old seal from dad before I unlocked it with the toads!'

His eyes roamed back to his surrounding sewers. "N-no, this is wrong, what's going on?" He shut his eyes and rubbed them furiously before opening them and found that nothing changed. His breaths grew ragged as he felt his heart pounding.

The full form of the Nine-Tails came into view as it clawed at the bars with a mighty swipe, roaring furiously. The cage shook violently as red miasma blasted out towards the still boy.

Naruto turned and ran before the miasma could reach him.

'If you don't remember, then I'll just have to save you from your hatred again! Wait for me, Kurama!'

* * *

Madara awoke with a fevered gasp. His vision opened to reveal an unfamiliar scene of total darkness.

As he molded fire chakra to start a small light and verify whether he was blind or simply in a lightless environment, he noticed some oddities with his body. It felt weak and pathetic, while the chakra came slowly like wading through quicksand.

Confused, he reached in with his senses and found the Shinju drastically weakened from what he last remembered, almost dead even, and his connection with the World God Tree gone.

As the firelight technique lit up on his palm, he saw his shriveled skin, tattered clothes, and sickly chakra, before his stolen Sharingan eyes roamed around to take in the stone walls and stone throne he was sitting on.

'This is…the room that I ordered Tobi to store my corpse in.'

He pushed himself off the throne and lumbered to the back, where a single black cord jutted out from the ground. Grasping a hold of it, he connected it to the chakra gate in his navel area and reached out hungrily for chakra.

'Damn! Not a single one sealed yet…'

Throwing the cord away, he pressed his hand onto the back of the throne, where nine seals were inscribed. Activating one of them, he sighed as the pleasant flow of chakra entered him, staving off what he knew to be impending doom as his chakra levels surged. He had left these seals here as a backup in case he urgently needed the chakra, as he knew that if the Rinne Tensei technique was used without enough power, his body would still be that of a nearly dead old man, and there was no guarantee that the gedo mazo would still be here by the time Obito managed to resurrect him.

Unfortunately, the seals would not be enough. He had chakra, but the body was still aged and would die within months if he did not recover more vitality as the body could no longer produce chakra on its own. Hashirama's healing prowess which he recently learned could prolong his time by reducing cell damage and enhance regenerative growth factor, but it was not capable of increasing the hard limit on somatic cell division. To reverse the aging process, he would need to direct that chakra with Six Paths Yang Power, which could only be activated from the combination of sage chakra and the Rinnegan or chakra from all nine of the Tailed Beasts.

He sat back down on the throne and quietly contemplated his next steps. It was obvious that he had somehow gone back in time together with the Shinju and transferred back into his old body, reviving through the lifeforce of the Shinju. But the exact moment he arrived was unclear, he had no allies he could trust with the knowledge of his return, and it was entirely possible that the brat who cast Izanagi had also returned. He was in no shape to fight even Black Zetsu, let alone one of the Sage's chosen champions.

Closing his eyes, he resigned himself to the safest option, and began gathering nature chakra to form the sage chakra needed to feed the Shinju in his body. It would never mature with the pitiful amount of Yin and Yang chakra he had access to right now, but the Shinju could still generate the unique chakra of the Ten Tails.

'This time for sure…the world will know peace!'

* * *

Sasuke awoke with a fevered gasp. His vision opened to reveal a cloudy sky with heavy rain. Glancing about, he saw the towering statues of Hashirama and Madara at the Valley of the End, only slightly damaged instead of the obliterated mess it had been when he had cast Izanagi.

He pushed himself off the ground and saw the body of Naruto lying face up. Then his eyes widened as he noticed that Naruto looked no more than thirteen. His eyes darted to the scratched headband beside Naruto's prone form and froze.

'This is…just before I went to Orochimaru?'

He grasped his forehead as he felt a headache coming on, followed by a sharp pain in his eyes. The moment passed, and he channeled chakra to his eyes, activating his mature Sharingan in an attempt to see through any illusions cast on him. Finding nothing, he channeled even more chakra to unleash the Mangekyou upgrade.

However, nothing in his surroundings changed. Shocked, he called on his Six Paths Yin Power and activated the Rinnegan, which momentarily flickered into existence, again showing nothing abnormal in his surroundings, before a piercing pain in his left brought him to his knees and the Rinnegan forcibly shut off.

His hand flew up to his eye and found blood.

Stunned, he removed his hand and looked at his bloody left palm with his remaining open eye. The crescent moon of the Six Paths Yin Power stared back at him. It was slightly faded, as if the power was weakened.

'That's right…if I'm really back in time, then I don't have Itachi's eyes for the eternal Mangekyou and I don't have the Senju cells from Kabuto to control the Six Paths Power…'

He stood back up and looked down at Naruto. It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of his final bond.

Then he looked at his left palm again.

'No…I might need him to seal Kaguya again, if things don't go well.'

He could not kill Naruto until he acquired the Six Paths Yang Power, which he had no idea how to get, or killed everyone that could cause Kaguya to be revived.

Then he turned and jumped away.

'Itachi…I found my answer from the Kages…I can only hope you'll understand.'

* * *

A/N: I've had this idea partially written up for a long time. I never felt satisfied with the way that the ideological conflict was resolved in Naruto. Sasuke's revolutionary wasn't ever explained, and Naruto never seemed to actually have an answer except to stop everyone else's plans. I also disliked the way Madara seemed to almost repent at the end. If it weren't for Black Zetsu, he really would have won...

That said, if the three continued fighting after the Infinite Tsukuyomi, there wouldn't have been any real substance given their ridiculous power levels. Hence, I introduced the time travel element. Each of the three faces different challenges for returning to full power, because only their souls and some of their chakra came back with them, not their bodies. They also have different strategic constraints aside from their personal power. I think that sets the stage for an interesting conflict.

Unfortunately, I can't promise this will be any more than a one-shot as it's just an idea without much of a plot fleshed out. If you have any ideas on how each of these players should move, let me know. You are also free to use the elements of this idea for your own story. Just make sure you tell me about it because I really want to read a good story that can do this idea justice.


	2. Companions

**Chapter 2 – Companions**

"I came to talk to you today about an important matter. From now on, you're my apprentice. I will train you one on one for three years."

"Pervy Sage…" Naruto's voice cracked.

He blinked away the tears that sprung up when his mentor reappeared in front of him.

"When I was investigating Orochimaru's immortality jutsu, information regarding 'Akatsuki' came to light."

' _Don't you dare investigate Pain again… I won't let you die this time!'_

"They won't be after you for at least three to four years."

But he would be after them. It will be over before they have a chance to get any of the Tailed Beasts, he'll make sure of it.

"Then there's no time to waste. I need to go after Sasuke!" And he would bring Sasuke back this time, before it's too late, before Sasuke kills Itachi without knowing the terrible truth.

"I already know why Orochimaru wants Sasuke," said Jiraiya with a smirk while having his back turned to Naruto. "Like I said before, I was investigating Orochimaru's 'immortality jutsu' …this might not relieve you completely, but he can't use Sasuke's body as a container for at least three years."

Naruto let him continue.

"He can't use his immortality jutsu more than once every three years. While waiting for Sasuke impatiently, he already transferred. So we have time."

And after those three years, Sasuke drifted further away. If he wanted any chance of saving him, then Naruto had to act sooner.

"Though…forget about Sasuke."

Naruto's fist curled around the sheets.

"Sasuke himself decided to go to Orochimaru…no matter what you do, he won't change. From having seen many shinobi, I understand…Sasuke's the same type as Orochimaru. Don't think about bringing him back, that's the kind of thinking a fool would do!"

"You're right…he won't change," Naruto said quietly.

Jiraiya's head swerved around to stare at his student as if the boy just grew a second head. He never expected Naruto to actually agree, despite hoping that the young ninja wouldn't make the same mistakes as himself.

"But you're also wrong. Even if he won't change, he's still my friend."

Jiraiya sighed in disappointment. "Do friends injure their companions? Look at your current condition!"

"He could have killed me. But he didn't." Naruto said with a sad smile. Even in the end, neither of them went for the killing blow. They dismembered each other, sure, but that was because they had become too powerful, too destructive.

"I won't give up on him. Especially now that I finally understand him…now that I understand the pain of losing bonds." He had almost given in to it once. That overpowering feeling, of anger and despair, and the desperation to take revenge. It was a cycle of hate that would have never ended, until the moment he chose to _forgive_.

"He called me his best friend. The Sasuke I knew is still in there, I know it!" Even the Great Old Sage believed in Sasuke. They were both entrusted with the future. The two of them had found different answers, and he still didn't get Sasuke's version of "Hokage", but the bastard was also trying to find peace. Nagoto, Obito, even Madara – everyone was trying to find peace.

"That's unexpectedly wise of you. You're not as foolish as you look." Jiraiya chuckled.

"Huh? What are you saying, I look like a fool?!" Naruto yelled out. He could barely stop the edges of his mouth from curling up.

' _I missed you, Pervy Sage.'_

"When you're ready to leave the hospital—"

"Pervy Sage…" Naruto started as he got up from the hospital bed as he ripped off his bandages.

"What are you doing?! You're still in— " Jiraiya's voice cut off as he saw Naruto's perfectly healed body standing with strength. "—jured…"

Naruto turned around to face his mentor.

"We can't wait three years to find Sasuke and deal with Akatsuki. We have to save Itachi and warn the other Jinchuuriki!"

"Save Itachi…Jinchuuriki? What are you talking about?!" Jiraiya's confusion turned to shock as he noticed that Naruto's chakra signature had disappeared some time ago. Then he saw the markings on Naruto's eyes. "Im-impossible! That's…"

Toad-like irises surrounded by an orange pigmentation stared back calmly.

"Let's go see Ma and Pa! I'll explain everything." Before Jiraiya had a chance to respond, the two of them disappeared in puffs of smoke.

* * *

"Kukuku…Sasuke-kun, you are the chosen one."

Sasuke followed behind his former teacher who had yet to modify his face to look like his original self.

"It doesn't matter how…just give me power." He muttered darkly.

Kabuto came up and whispered in his ear. "Although the form is different, that is Orochimaru-sama in front of you. If you don't want to die, you should watch your mouth."

Sasuke turned to glare at him with one eye. Then he unleashed a fraction of his chakra.

'What the…?' A bead of sweat rolled down Kabuto's face as the ground cracked.

Orochimaru stopped and turned to look at Sasuke, and thought to himself, 'Yes…even stronger than I had imagined! What monstrous growth. My future is in this child!'

Sasuke also stopped and turned to look at Orochimaru. "The Senju cells…where is it?"

Orochmaru's one visible eyebrow quirked up. "Oh? What are you talking about, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke growled in response. "Don't mess with me, I know you have it. You expected me to awaken it, didn't you?"

Now Orochimaru's face scrunched up in confusion. "I'm afraid I really don't know what you mean. You will have to be more specific, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke blinked. 'Does he not know about it yet in this time?' Then he sneered back. "You wanted my body for my eyes didn't you? Yet you don't even know the price Itachi and I have to pay for this power?"

Orochimaru quietly watched Sasuke's eyes morph from black to the fully matured 3-tomoe Sharingan. Then he froze when it morphed again into 6-pointed star.

"By killing their best friend…an Uchiha can gain the ultimate power…"

Orochimaru glanced at Kabuto. "…Naruto Uzumaki is dead?"

Kabuto gulped at the tension. The potency of the chakra he was feeling right now…it was unimaginable that a 13-year old could produce this. "Our scouts report that the body was retrieved by the Copy Ninja. We cannot verify if he is dead or alive."

"It doesn't matter…pain is what drives the evolution…even if he somehow regenerates from fatal wounds." Sasuke said contemptuously. "But that's not the only price."

Orochimaru perked up in interest.

"These eyes are a double-edged sword…it grants great power, but the user will eventually go blind with its usage. I need the first Hokage's cells to stop this."

"Hmm…how interesting…" Orochimaru murmured. "Did Itachi tell you of this? Did he already master those cells?"

"That murderer…" Sasuke's heartstrings twitched as he slandered his brother. "…has a different solution to the blindness. He wants to take my eyes to replace his and unlock an even greater power. That's why he told me…so I could evolve my eyes for his taking."

The sannin's eyes gained a hungry glint. "Kukuku…fascinating! To think the Sharingan could become even stronger!" Perhaps not taking Sasuke's body right away was a blessing in disguise. What a tragedy it would be to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan, only to fall to blindness without knowing of how to stop it. And perhaps there was a deeper link between the Uchiha and the Senju…he would have to restart certain lines of research.

"Well, we can't have my future eyes going blind, can we? However, most subjects die shortly after receiving the cells…"

"I'm not like them."

"Perhaps. But you will still have to earn it, Sasuke-kun. Prove to me that you are worthy. Kukuku…"

* * *

Madara cursed as the Shinju went into hibernation and refused to respond. It had generated a pithy of Six Paths Chakra before going silent. It would likely take at least one Tailed Beast worth of chakra to awaken it again. Rationing it with relatively less powerful techniques, he would only be able to use the special chakra perhaps three times before it ran out.

However, now was not the time to be conservative. He unsealed the rest of the colossal amount of chakra stored in the throne and used a sliver of the Six Paths Chakra to form Six Paths Sage Chakra, and concentrated.

Within a few minutes, stem cells were cultivated, mostly from Hashirama's cells, and old cells were replaced. His hunch straightened and the sickly skin gained color. His body groaned as all the organs regenerated pieces that weren't working anymore and recycled dead cell material.

Flexing himself, he felt much better as he estimated his physical age to be somewhere around 80, where it was previously over 100. His chakra circulatory network restarted and fresh chakra was produced, even if it was nothing compared to his prime.

Running over the appropriate hand signs, he reversed summoned himself to a different room. With a massive sprawling network of tunnels, his base in the Mountains Graveyard could get almost anywhere in the Elemental Nations. However, it wasn't purely a physical network. The distances were too enormous to travel efficiently, as such, he had set up reverse summoning seals in key strategic locations around the Elemental Nations wherever he had a base. These were large and cumbersome seals based off similar principles as Tobirama's Hiraishin, but he never figured out how to make it fast and small enough to use in battle, or bring other people along for the ride.

He walked to a nearby shelf and grabbed a glass jar from the many experimental specimens organized neatly in rows.

Turning, he continued walking until he reached a room with various armaments. He began gathering a set of light equipment when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Madara-sama?" A voice called out as a figure emerged from around the corner. The familiar spiral shape of Tobi's face came into view.

Madara faced the unique Zetsu with a calculating look. "Tobi…I was just about to look for you."

* * *

Tsunade marvelled at Sakura's handiwork. This level of talent could only come once in several generations. The fish was healed perfectly, after less than five minutes with the task. When the girl had barged in to her office asking for an apprenticeship, Tsunade had been a little skeptical at first, but allowed her the chance because she had that special trait that all first-class medic-nin need. But after that display, she began reviewing reports from her jounin sensei Kakashi, which showed that Sakura had an incredible ability to transfer theory into practice, stemming from near-perfect chakra control. This was a talent that could even surpass the slug Sannin herself! She shouldn't have expected any less really, what with Orochimaru and Jiraiya both taking one member of Team 7, as if fate had conspired to create a new generation of Sannin.

Loud knocking sounds disturbed from her thoughts. The door was opened without permission and a blonde boy walked in, followed by her perverted teammate.

"Naruto! What are you doing? You should be resting at the hospital!" Tsunade threw a paperweight at Jiraiya, whose eyes widened before dodging.

"Shit! Why are you throwing that at ME?"

"I'm fine now! I have something really important to tell you!" Naruto ran in front of her desk. Meanwhile, Jiraiya shut the door behind him and made a gesture to Tsunade.

Tsunade frowned but complied, signaling her ANBU and performing a set of hand seals.

"Well, I'm listening…this better be good, you brat."

"Well, you see…I came back from the future," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head.

Tsunade's eyes bugged out. Then she growled, "If this is your idea of a prank…"

Naruto looked to Jiraiya, who sighed.

"Wait, Tsunade. He's telling the truth. The Great Toad Sage had another vision and confirmed that he saw several unidentifiable individuals moving through the currents of time."

Tsunade's face blanked. "You're serious…?"

"I can be serious some times…" Naruto grumbled.

"Tell me everything."

* * *

"This will be your private training area, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto opened the door and gestured inside. "Now that you've gotten some rest, you will be starting lessons with Orochimaru-same tomorrow, in here."

Sasuke walked forward and stopped just in the doorway. His head turned towards Kabuto.

"Is it not to your liking, Sasuke-kun? You should know that it is ver—"

Kabuto felt a deathly grip on his throat before he had a chance to jump back from the sudden attack. "Gu-urgh!"

In less than a second, he was swept inside the room and the door shut behind them.

"Tsukuyomi."

* * *

Two figures in full body cloaks walked up the stairs the massive gates in front of the Fire Temple. Under their hoods were masks with two eye holes. One mask was all white with a black circle in the center. The other was all black with a white circle in the center.

The figure with the black circle mask knocked aggressively on the gates.

"Strangers, state your business." A strong voice projected from the temple.

"You have something that belongs to us! Open up!" The black circle mask figure yelled back.

"Our temple does not take the property of others. What is it that you are looking for?"

"The demon chakra! Hand over the vessel!"

The two figures waited a few more moments with no further response.

"Mochizuki-sama, shall we show ourselves in?" The knocker turned back to the other figure.

"Go ahead Saku. These fools had their chance," a deep voice growled back.

What seemed to be a mix of voices answered back as one, "Strangers, begone from this place! You are not wel—! "

A huge tree trunk burst from the ground, smashing into the Iron Wall, blowing it away, as Saku's cloak fluttered after he flew through hand seals.

Without missing a beat, Saku blitzed forward with a mass of sharp wooden appendages extending from his right arm, slicing furiously into the first monk he saw. As the monk was shredded into pieces two other monks dashed forwards, covered in an ethereal aura, each launching a punch at the intruder.

Saku's sharp branches retracted as he turned and calmly caught the two by their forearms. White flesh shot out and wrapped around the arms of the two monks, quickly slithering onto their bodies before Saku threw the two away towards the entrance of the inner temple. The monks tried to pry off the white substance but quickly found themselves losing strength and their chakra auras dissipated. An alarm began to sound as more monks rushed out from all sides.

Mochizuki walked in to the courtyard with a steady gait as the monks took up defensive positions around the two wounded and began to surround the intruders in a half circle. The monks made several synchronized kata movements and chanted, "Gift of the Sage: True Hundred Hand Formation." A large avatar formed from the combined auras of the monks, with the appearance of a bodhisattva with a hundred arms.

"Ah! What evil is this?" A voice cried out painfully from the bank.

The defenders turned to see several of their own lying on the ground, and the two previously wounded monks fully wrapped by the white flesh substance, their faces consumed by a spiral design with a single eye hole. The defending monks were forced to split into two groups to deal with the new threat.

"Gift of the Sage? How pitiful. Come, I will give you an opportunity to dance with a true sage," Mochizuki sneered as he brought his hands together, and intoned, "Sage Art Wood Release: Several Thousand Hands."

The ground buckled before an enormous wooden statue burst up and broke the foundations of the walls surrounding the courtyard. Saku and Mochizuki standing on top the head of the 20 metre tall monstrosity, looking down on their puny foes and the ethereal avatar that was one-third their height.

"By the lord Buddha…this is blasphemy! How dare you defile the visage of the enlightened ones with such barbaric acts!"

* * *

Sasuke stealthily stepped into the lab and searched around quickly for his target. His eyes stopped on several vials placed onto racks and found the label Kabuto had kindly described. He rushed over and grabbed one of them before dumping the contents into a syringe he picked up from a sterilized bag on the next table. Just as he prepared to inject the contents into himself, he noticed the writing on some papers left on the table.

 _Experiment S-M03 - FAIL. All S clones in test group were consumed by the Hashirama cells 6 days after treatment._

 _Experiment S-MU01 – FAIL. The Sharingan S clones were consumed by the Hashirama cells 37 days after treatment_

 _Observation: Despite the original suppressing the cells with Uchiha chakra, the result could not be fully replicated in DNA clones._

 _New Hypotheses:_

 _pronuclear injection into surrogate egg cells produces imperfect clones. Some special traits are not inherited. [Previous failures to clone Hashirama himself support this.]_

 _Additional maturing is needed before clones have sufficiently potent Uchiha chakra for stabilization. [Subject S was physically aged 14 when the successful implant was made, and 17 when the limb was isolated.]_

'What? Orochimaru has another Uchiha he's experimenting on?' Sasuke flipped through the papers but found nothing else mentioning the Uchiha or Sharingan. The rest were all various notes on other experiments on Hashirama cells which failed.

He looked back at the syringe in his hand and hesitated. He did not know the details behind the treatment Kabuto gave him, and could not be sure that the concoction he had now would work if he simply injected it into his bloodstream. On the other hand, he could not wait three years until Kabuto figured it out – who knew if that would even happen again. The only alternative was to look for "Madara", who certainly had the solution, but how would he convince the S-rank nin to cooperate? Or even find him, for that matter?

'I need to wait until the conditions are better,' he decided, placing the syringe into a storage scroll and hiding it away.

As he turned to leave, he saw a figure blocking his way.

"What's this? You're quite impatient, aren't you, Sasuke-kun?"

* * *

"This is a lot to take in…," Tsunade said with a tired look. "So what do you want to do?" She looked pointedly at Jiraiya and then back to Naruto.

Jiraiya took the lead and answered, "We don't know anything about these other time travelers, but they shouldn't know about Naruto either. If any of them are hostile, we would be better off keeping a low profile."

"But this is a second chance! I have to change things, and stop the war! So many people could be saved!" Naruto protested.

"We have to pick our fights, Naruto. You can't think of this as an opportunity to change things. In all likelihood, future events will be drastically different from what you remember no matter what we do. Most of the big events you described happened in three years' time, and a lot could change just by random chance, not to mention the other time travelers messing things up," Jiraiya explained with a shake of his head.

"But we can't just do nothing! Granny Tsunade, you agree with me don't you!?" Naruto gripped the edge of her desk pleadingly.

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples. "Jiraiya has a point. There are too many unknowns right now…you've given us a lot of good intel, but it's not easy to act on. I need evidence to verify the truth behind Itachi. The other villages won't cooperate on protecting the Jinchuuriki unless Akatsuki demonstrates themselves to be a threat, and Konoha is still in an emergency state. We have absolutely no manpower to spare."

Naruto's mouth fell open, and failed to speak. He felt Jiraiya's hand rest on his shoulder.

"We're not gonna do nothing, Naruto. But we can't be hasty either. What if the Akatsuki decides to move early when they notice our actions? None of your friends are ready to face S-class nin, and Gaara's not the Kazekage yet, but he's going to be their first target. You are one person, Naruto, and you can't be everywhere at once when they decide to strike."

Naruto's hands formed into fists as he let them fall to his sides, but nodded.

'Damn it! He's right, everyone is still genin except Shikamaru. Plus Gaara lost even when he was way stronger…'

"We can leave for our training trip as originally planned, but use the time to gather information instead. We can look for the status of each Akatsuki member and each jinchuuriki, and watch for anything leading to one of the other time travelers," Jiraiya continued. "Once we know more, we can decide what to do."

"You do that," Tsunade affirmed. "I will investigate Danzo and the elders. They've been damn annoying already and the sooner I can find a reason to get rid of them the better…" muttered the newly appointed Hokage.

* * *

"Orochimaru…I have no need of you anymore," Sasuke replied calmly.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "How arrogant. Do you think you are a match for me now that you possess a few new powers?"

"You are nothing before these eyes. A mere parasite leeching from others…you're a shell of what you used to be. I can see it clearly, your arms haven't recovered despite taking over a new body…" Sasuke's blood red eyes glowed as he looked at the man front of him. "The power of the Uchiha will never be wielded by such a weakling," the boy sneered.

"Little genin, it seems you need to be reminded of what real power is," Orochimaru frowned. He was baffled as to Sasuke's behavior. Where was all the confidence coming from? Only months ago, this boy was paralyzed by killer intent. Admittedly Itachi wasn't much older when he suffered that humiliating loss, but surely the boy needed some time to get used to using his Mangekyou Sharingan? Or perhaps the Uchiha truly did go insane from awakening that power. The boy had come to Orochimaru to gain more power, and they hadn't even started the lessons yet.

"Then by all means… _sensei_."

As soon as he was finished with the last word, lightning cracked to life and Sasuke blurred towards Orochimaru, slugging a ball of lightning.

* * *

A/N: Seems like Jiraiya is right. Nothing's going to be the same…

Saku – means new moon.

Mochizuki – means full moon.


End file.
